Educational psychology is a branch of psychology focused on learning processes and the psychological issues associated with education. Key figures include Edward Thorndike, who contributed significantly to understanding learning methods, and various perspectives such as behavioral, cognitive, and experiential, which shape how educational psychologists approach teaching. The field aims to apply psychological principles to improve learning outcomes and address individual differences among students, impacting teaching methods and classroom dynamics.

1. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
AQSA SHAHID

2. THE MODERN CONCEPT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Educational psychology, theoretical and research branch of
modern psychology, concerned with the learning processes
and psychological problems associated with the teaching and
training of students.In the early 1900s, he published articles in
The Journal of Educational Psychology.
• Edward Thorndike was a well-known psychologist who is
widely regarded as the father of modern educational
psychology.
•
"Considered the father of Educational Psychology, Edward Lee
Thorndike was devoted throughout his career to
understanding the process of learning. His interest in and
contribution to our understanding of learning ranged from
studies with animals, children, and eventually with adults.
•
That's why psychologists working in the field of education are
focused on identifying and studying learning methods to
better understand how people absorb and retain new
information. Educational psychologists apply theories of
human development to understand individual learning and
inform the instructional process.
•

3. HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY:
• Educational psychology is a relatively young subfield that has experienced a tremendous amount of
growth. Psychology did not emerge as a separate science until the late 1800s, so earlier interest in
educational psychology was largely fueled by educational philosophers.Many regard philosopher
Johann Herbart as the father of educational psychology.
• Grinder (1989) provides a detailed history of the field of EducationalPsychology, the following material
is a brief overview of that history.

4. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Educational psychology is the study of how people learn, including teaching methods, instructional
processes, and individual differences in learning. The goal is to understand how people learn and retain
information.
• Educational psychology examples include: Studying the most effective methods for teaching people
with specific learning challenges like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyscalculia, or
dyslexia. Researching how well people learn in different settings.

5. ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Educational psychologists are concerned with children's learning and development. They use their
specialist skills in psychological and educational assessment techniques to help those having difficulties
in learning, behaviour or social adjustment.

6. PERSPECTIVE EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Perspectives in Educational Psychology:
• As with other areas of psychology, researchers within educational psychology tend to take on different perspectives when
considering a problem. These perspectives focus on specific factors that influence learning, including learned behaviors,
cognition, experiences, and more.
• Behavioral Perspective:
• This perspective suggests that all behaviors are learned through conditioning. Psychologists who take this perspective rely
firmly on the principles of operant conditioning to explain how learning happens. For example, teachers might reward
learning by giving students tokens that can be exchanged for desirable items such as candy or toys. The behavioral
perspective operates on the theory that students will learn when rewarded for "good" behavior and punished for "bad"
behavior.

7. Developmental Perspective
• This perspective focuses on how children acquire
new skills and knowledge as they develop.2 Jean
Piaget's stages of cognitive development is one
example of an important developmental theory
looking at how children grow intellectually.
• By understanding how children think at different
stages of development, educational psychologists
can better understand what children are capable of
at each point of their growth. This can help
educators create instructional methods and
materials aimed at certain age groups.
Cognitive Perspective
• The cognitive approach has become much more
widespread, mainly because it accounts for how factors
such as memories, beliefs, emotions, and motivations
contribute to the learning process.4 This theory
supports the idea that a person learns as a result of their
own motivation, not as a result of external rewards.
• Cognitive psychology aims to understand how people
think, learn, remember, and process
information.Educational psychologists who take a
cognitive perspective are interested in understanding
how kids become motivated to learn, how they
remember the things that they learn, and how they
solve problems, among other topics.

8. EXPERIENTIAL PERSPECTIVE
• This perspective emphasizes that a person's own life experiences influence how they understand new
information.6 This method is similar to constructivist and cognitive perspectives in that it takes into
consideration the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the learner.
• This method allows someone to find personal meaning in what they learn instead of feeling that the
information doesn't apply to them.

9. KEY THEORIES IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Although the discipline of educational psychology includes numerous theories, many experts identify
five main schools of thought:
• behaviorism
• cognitivism,
• Constructivism
• experientialism,
• social contextual
• learning theories.

10. WHY IS EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IMPORTANT TO
TEACHERS?
• Psychologists working in the field of education study how people learn and retain knowledge. They
apply psychological science to improve the learning process and promote educational success for all
students.

11. CONTRIBUTION OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• One simple question may be asked as to why educational psychology should be taught to prospective
teachers in training colleges. The educational psychology helps the teachers in the following ways;
• 1. To understand developmental characteristics
• Children pass through different stages of development in life as infancy, childhood and adolescence.
These developmental stages have their own characteristics and demands.
• 2. To understand the nature of dass room learning
• With the help of education psychology the teacher understand the students and their need and
problems, it help teacher in learning process in general and class-room learning in particular.

12. • 3. To understand individual
• Difference sclass of 30 to 50 students who have a different range of individual differences. Teacher
with the With the help of psychology teacher understand the individual's differences. Teacher faces a
knowledge of education psychology and individual differencesneeds and requirements of the class.
may adjust his teaching .
• 4. To understand effective teaching methods:
• Every day experience shows that lack of proper methods of teaching sometimes resultfailure of
communication in the classroom. The educational psychology gives us the knowledges iof appropriate
methods of teaching. It helps in developing new strategies of teaching.